#appalternatives — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #appalternatives, aggregated by home.social.
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MakeUseOf: I replaced Lightroom with this free app and I only miss it a little. “So if you’re tired of spending hundreds of dollars, at the very least, to be able to edit a few photos, you’re using the wrong program. There’s a photo-editing app so good that it can easily replace Lightroom, and you give up only one thing in return.”
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/04/27/makeuseof-i-replaced-lightroom-with-this-free-app-and-i-only-miss-it-a-little/ -
MakeUseOf: I stopped using LM Studio once I found this open-source alternative. “The alternative that eventually ended up replacing LM Studio for me is Jan. It’s a desktop application that lets you run LLMs fully offline — much like LM Studio, but not only is it completely free, it’s also open-source, with all the source code being available on GitHub. There are no licensing surprises, no […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/04/21/makeuseof-i-stopped-using-lm-studio-once-i-found-this-open-source-alternative/ -
How-To Geek: I replaced Google Keep with this free open-source app (and never looked back). “Keep is one of Google’s better products. It has a great UI, and you can capture notes with just one tap. Despite using it for years, however, I have wanted an alternative. So why bother replacing it? I can give you two reasons and a free, open-source app that does what Keep can’t.”
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/03/29/how-to-geek-i-replaced-google-keep-with-this-free-open-source-app-and-never-looked-back/ -
MakeUseOf: 7 creative tools that are completely free (and professionals actually use). “When you need some capable design suites, development tools, and editing software, it’s easy to assume that serious work requires some serious spending. Many beginners and enthusiasts end up spending hundreds of dollars, without even knowing that even professionals rely on completely free tools for their […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/03/06/makeuseof-7-creative-tools-that-are-completely-free-and-professionals-actually-use/ -
ZDNet: I tried a Claude Code alternative that’s local, open source, and completely free – how it works. “This is the first of three articles that will discuss the integration of Goose (the agent framework), Ollama (an LLM server), and Qwen3-coder (the LLM). In this article, I’ll show you how to get everything working. In the next article, I’ll give you a more in-depth understanding of the roles […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/02/03/zdnet-i-tried-a-claude-code-alternative-thats-local-open-source-and-completely-free-how-it-works/ -
Android Authority: Here are 5 privacy-focused alternatives to popular Google apps. “Google has a vast array of apps available, and I don’t want to make this post too long by listing an alternative for every single one of them. Instead, I’ll focus on alternatives to five popular Google apps most people are familiar with and serve as the perfect starting point for those trying to move away […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/02/01/android-authority-here-are-5-privacy-focused-alternatives-to-popular-google-apps/ -
Lifehacker: Microsoft Is Finally Retiring Its Free Scanner App (but There Are Alternatives). “Keen observers have known about this since August, when Microsoft first announced that Lens would be retired in September and removed from app stores in November. That obviously didn’t happen, as the company adjusted the deadline to Dec. 15, which also came and went. Microsoft kicked the retirement can […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/01/15/lifehacker-microsoft-is-finally-retiring-its-free-scanner-app-but-there-are-alternatives/ -
MakeUseOf: I tested 5 major Google Maps alternatives — this is the one I’m keeping. “Over several months, I relied entirely on five popular navigation apps—Sygic, Magic Earth, OsmAnd, HERE WeGo, and Waze [Waze?] —for everything from urban navigation to foreign city breaks and far-flung motorcycle trips off the beaten track. After plenty of traffic jams, reroutes, and signal drops, some […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2025/12/26/makeuseof-i-tested-5-major-google-maps-alternatives-this-is-the-one-im-keeping/ -
MakeUseOf: I never expected an open-source app to beat IFTTT and Zapier — but this one did. “I’ve used more automation platforms than the average person — IFTTT (If This Then That), Zapier, Make, n8n — plus a few obscure ones that never went past beta. What every one of them did was box me into templates. This throttled my workflow and failed to show the real strength of premium tiers. I […]
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How-To Geek: I replaced Mathematica with this free and open-source alternative. “Mathematica is well-known for its ability to solve all kinds of math and science problems. It’s also notoriously expensive and closed-source. What if there was an open-source program for Linux that let you explore math for free? There is, and it’s called SageMath.”
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MakeUseOf: I replaced Google Keep for my whole family with a free and open-source alternative. “My cousins and I, along with a neighbor, started using Google Keep to coordinate our weekly gaming sessions and movie nights. … But as weeks went on, the app just didn’t feel adequate for the type of note collaboration my group needed. Google Keep was good for personal use, but it just felt a bit […]
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How-To Geek: Self-Hosted Google Photos Alternative Immich Just Got an Update. “Immich, the self-hosted alternative to Google Photos and other media cloud storage services, just released a big update. Immich version 1.140 has a new read-only mode, a way to add missing GPS data to many photos at once, and some other helpful improvements.”
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For a given value of useful, from Lifehacker: 16 Games You Should Play If You Like Wordle. “Fortunately, the years since Wordle’s appearance have blessed us with dozens of other guessing games that borrowed one or more of Wordle’s features—five-letter solutions, or yellow and green squares, or sometimes just the concept of guessing and getting hints to narrow down the possibilities. Here […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2025/08/14/lifehacker-16-games-you-should-play-if-you-like-wordle/
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Mashable: Pocket is shutting down. Here are the read-later app alternatives.. “Pocket may be saying goodbye, but plenty of bookmarking and read-later platforms are still alive and kicking. If you’re looking for a read-later service like Pocket, Instapaper and Readwise are two popular options.” Also Raindrop, which I use and heartily recommend. I have no financial relationship with them except […]
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MakeUseOf: I Tried 5 Google Chrome Bookmark Alternatives, and This Is My New Favorite. “Google Bookmarks shut down in 2021, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other options. I’ve tried different Google Bookmark alternatives and found a new favorite you will also love.” +1 for Raindrop.
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Lifehacker: The Five Best Video Call Apps to Replace Skype. “The goal (and challenge) of choosing a video calling platform is to convince other people to join you. The last thing you want is to pick an app that no one uses, then force everyone in your circle to adopt that choice. The less friction, the better. That’s why platforms that work with people’s existing accounts and platforms are […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2025/03/03/lifehacker-the-five-best-video-call-apps-to-replace-skype/